Canfield Mayor Richard Duffett stands in front of the 288-acre Redgate Farm, located at South Palmyra and Leffingwell roads in Canfield Township. The property was puchased in 2003 for $3.1 million and remains undeveloped, but city officials are hoping that will change soon. Staff photo / Ashley Fox

CANFIELD — Discussion is picking up about using a large piece of land Canfield city officials purchased nearly two decades ago.

Located on South Palmyra and Leffingwell roads in Canfield Township, the city purchased Redgate Farm, nearly 300 acres, in 2003 for $3.1 million.

Canfield financed $2.1 million and made a $1 million cash purchase, said city Manager Wade Calhoun. Within the five years of the purchase, the economy tanked, with the land sitting undeveloped.

Now, conversation about how to use the property is resuming.

“In the last five to six years, interest has been invigorated,” Calhoun said.

Mayor Richard Duffett said the city “is very excited about the development that will eventually go in at Redgate Farm.”

Canfield, which Duffett said was the seat of government in Mahoning County in the 1840s, has a location that allows for smooth commutes for professionals in Lordstown, Pittsburgh and Cleveland, that could help market the property.

“With Lordstown Motors coming, with LG Chem coming and the economy picking up,” plus the school system and safety forces, Duffett said Redgate can grow, along with the adjacent joint economic development district and other blossoming neighborhoods in the city.

The Redgate property is adjacent to the Millenial Moments Joint Economic Development District, which will bring high-end housing within its 115 acres. New development costs for the JEDD are upward of $120 million.

Redgate was annexed as a “Type 2” parcel in 2019, Calhoun said. The property stays in the township, but is included in the city limits.

No utilities run to Redgate. Sewer service stops at the Hunter’s Wood Development with water service stopping at U.S. Route 224 and Palmyra Road.

Ultimately, Calhoun said the goal is for the Redgate property to be developed. There’s a lot that it could be, Calhoun said, mentioning a development such as Stone Bridge or the JEDD, “or something else.”

What Redgate cannot be is industrial, manufacturing or anything measuring 50,000 square feet or larger. The city wants to keep future ideas for the property “in tune with its surroundings,” Calhoun said.

The first thing needed is to run utilities down South Palmyra Road. To get sewer lines to Redgate will cost about $2.3 million, Calhoun said.

There isn’t that amount of money to run utilities to the location “in one fell swoop,” Calhoun said. Associated with that cost are design, which would cost just under $300,000, and construction. All could be rolled into a single loan, Calhoun said.

afox@vindy.com